SEATBELTS!

[blamebrampton]

I believe in seatbelts. I believe in them with a profound and unshakeable faith. Well, it's less of a belief as such and more of a tried and tested result from an extensive data set including a few unfortunate control experiments. My father's driving was eccentric at best, and while I am the most law-abiding cyclist in the world, I foolishly kept cycling when I moved to Sydney, so was able to experience first hand and several times that a human body can fly quite well, it's just the landings we suck at.

Here's another reason to believe in seatbelts. Yesterday in Melbourne a young mother lost grip on her pushchair/stroller for a moment, and it rolled away from her quickly, infant inside. No one could catch it before it fell onto the tracks, and the pushchair and child were both hit by a train. The baby boy, who was securely held in with his seatbelt, was pushed along upside down for over 30m, but is fine save for a bump on his head. Be warned that the video is a bit heart in mouth.

Seriously, seatbelts.

Princess Diana would still be alive, James Dean would probably be a grandfather and tens of thousands of people who die every year would not. I do not understand people who make it an 'issue' of 'personal choice'. Seatbelts do not trap people in wrecks. I've been in cars upside down and a friend was in one in the water. Because we'd been wearing seatbelts, we both were in excellent condition at the end of the accidents we were in, and we were easily able to escape our cars, having undone our seatbelts. If you're that worried, keep a Swiss Army knife in your pocket to slash a belt post-accident.

I love seatbelts. And sunblock, too, but it already has enough champions.

Comments

[ciel-vert.livejournal.com]

I too am very pro-seatbelt. I'm also pro-child safety seat up to a ridiculous age (there are some states in this country that don't require parents to put their children in booster seats once they're past actual car seat age/weight which is just ridiculous IMO). It's complete instinct for me to put on my seatbelt when I get in the car. My car actually yells (ok, it doesn't really yell, but makes an obnoxious beeping noise) if the driver and front seat passenger are in the car and the car is moving and their seatbelts aren't on.

I did know a girl in high school though, who refused to wear a seatbelt ever. Her reason was that her brother had been killed in a car accident, and according to her, the injuries that killed him were caused BY the seatbelt he was wearing. I hated to doubt her on that, but if that was the case, those killed by their seatbelt has to be such a small number in comparison to those killed by NOT wearing their seatbelt, that I see no point in risking one's life that way.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I always think in those cases that to be killed by the seatbelt, the crash must have been so appalling that if the seatbelt had not killed them, the dashboard would have next. But yes, very hard to say that to anyone who firmly believes it!

Kid seats are great, and they really do save lives: keeping them for older kids has a strong statistical significance for safety in accidents. Good move! And I love the yelling car!

[ciel-vert.livejournal.com]

Oh my, I saw the video clip at lunch on the breakroom tv and it was just horrifying! Even though I knew everything turned out okay, it was so awful to see.

I love my yelling car! Whenever people get in it for the first time and don't seem inclined to buckle up, I always say, "Put your seatbelt on or Frankie's gonna yell at you." They're always a little surprised when Frankie actually does "yell". :D